Nearly a year out from the release of Inuktitut, Elisapie is back with another re-imagined classic — "Quviasukkuvit (If It Makes You Happy)" finds her tackling the much-loved Sheryl Crow joint. Translated into her mother tongue, the song was produced by Elisapie's close collaborator Joe Grass.
In a statement about the cover, Elisapie said:
An image that always comes to mind, no matter where I travel or live, is of the people dancing at the magical and dramatic Ikkarivvik Bar in Kuujjuaq. In my mind's eye, it is always Friday night, and the moon is full. Most people are either a little drunk or very drunk. The bar and the dancefloor are an escape, and people dance to forget and escape. I recognize so many faces and I can see their smiles and closed eyes as they dance.
"If It Makes You Happy" was so popular in the North, and it reminds me so much of when I was a teenager. It played on TV and radio, and we listened to it at home. Those lines made us want to scream along with Sheryl. Her song liberates my people in the North, giving them the words to shout about being sad without feeling ashamed.
When I perform this song, it has Sheryl Crow's enthusiasm, but my Inuit sensibility slows it down, echoing the rhythm of the land.
The cover comes attached to a music video directed by Philippe Léonard. Check that out below.
"Elisapie is an artist who can transcend darkness to bring out light and hope," Léonard explained. "I wanted to pay tribute to what this woman of immeasurable strength means to me. This choreography of shadows is inspired by the stratified mineral landscape of Salluit, where this Qupanuaq (bird) was born." You can check it out below.
Elisapie is currently in the running for the Polaris Music Prize, set to be awarded at Toronto's Massey Hall on September 17.
Later in the month, she'll kick off a brief run of shows called Uvattini ("home" in Inuktitut) at Vancouver's Chan Centre on September 28 before heading to Québec City's Grand Théâtre de Québec on December 9 and Montreal's MTELUS on December 11. Directed by Émilie Monnet, the show combines music, storytelling, video and performance.